A Star is Born? The Authors, Principles and Objectives of Analytical Sociology

Abstract

This article presents the main features and objectives of the so-called «social mechanisms based explanation» or «analytical sociology». This perspective has gained quite consider- able attention in contemporary debate, both for its theoretical novelty as well as for its empirical results. In the first part of the article I describe the key concepts, main scholars and institutional strengths of this approach. In the second part, I clarify the relationships between the analytical sociology perspective and the main trends in contemporary sociol- ogy, both theoretical and empirical. In the third part, three core principles of the approach are outlined: the idea of causal process, the relevance of multilevel theory and the promi- nence of formal theories and models.